The Cayman River was a fishing hotspot. It was the largest river on the continent, and many large and rare fish lived in it. It was quite common to see fishermen placing bets among themselves as they challenged each other to fishing games.

“Look here. What do you say—the one who catches the largest fish will pay for the drinks today?”

“Haha! I might as well just pay for the drinks right now!”

“Just wait and see. I’m going to catch a big one today!”

Many merchants set up shop along the banks of the Cayman River. Some of them sold snacks on small wooden boats, while others set up proper shops to sell bait and tackle. These kinds of fishermen were the best customers for such merchants.

“My mother operates quite a large shop in this area,” Yan explained as he pointed toward a shop in the distance. The shop was neatly lined with all sorts of fishing gear, and there were also some well-maintained boats lined up behind it.

Yan brought the party into the shop and said in greeting, “I’m back, mother.”

A woman was sitting at the counter, and she looked so young that it was difficult to believe that she was Yan’s mother. She had long eyelashes, and a slender but voluptuous figure. She shook her head and replied, “I don’t recognize any son of mine who stays out all night long.”

“Then I guess you don’t know of a man named Nell as well? That’s a relief. He’s now missing after drowning in the river,” Yan said.

“…Did you manage to find him?” Yan’s mother asked.

“I’m going to go and find him now,” Yan replied.

“Why bother? I hope he just croaks and dies this time,” Yan’s mother said, clicking her tongue.

“Oh right, father said he would kill you if you hooked up with another guy after he died,” Yan said.

“If you run into him later, tell your father I’m going to live with Sukera, who lives just behind us, if he dies. So he’d better make sure to live a long life,” Yan’s mother replied.

Henrick whispered, “Does everyone speak to their mothers like this…?”

“Uhm… I think these people are just strange ones…?” Shaneth replied.

Yan’s mother raised a brow and asked, “Who are those people behind you?”

“These people agreed to help me to look for father,” Yan replied.

“We have shown you something unsightly. My name is Rin, and I apologize for the inconvenience we have caused you,” Rin said as she bowed politely toward them.

Shaneth waved her hand and replied, “It’s alright! We want to help as well, so please don’t mind it too much.”

“We have five people in total, and I think we’ll fit in a standard-sized boat. I’ll steer the boat. Please prepare us some fishing rods and a harpoon as well. Ah, make the harpoon a sharp one,” Yan said.

“Why do you need a harpoon?” Rin asked.

“For self-defense. We don’t know what might happen out there,” Yan replied.

“Don’t get hurt,” Rin said.

“I’m alright now, and I’m not a kid anymore,” Yan replied with a pout.

Rin went to the back of the shop to prepare the things Yan had requested. Meanwhile, Yan offered, “Shall we go and have a cup of tea while waiting?”

There was a round table in front of the shop, and they could drink tea with a view of the Cayman River from there. Yan brought over a teapot filled with hot water and tea leaves and poured everyone a cup.

“There are a lot of fishermen on the river,” Shaneth said while looking at the river. There were a lot of people fishing in dinghies.

Iris looked enviously at them and said, “It looks fun to fish while riding on a boat…”

“We’ll be doing that later anyway,” Shaneth said.

“Is that true? Are we really going to?” Iris asked with sparkling eyes.

Yan nodded and replied, “My father and I were fishing near the deeper parts of the river last night before he fell in. I think it would be a good idea to try and replicate the same situation from last night.”

“The same situation?” Shaneth asked, tilting her head in confusion.

Yan scratched his cheek in embarrassment as he explained, “It’s embarrassing to only be saying this now, but my father didn’t fall in by accident.” He pondered for a moment before continuing, “I’m certain that a large creature pulled him in. I wasn’t able to get a good look at the creature, but it was definitely a huge shadow.”

“Oh, so that’s why you asked for a harpoon to be prepared?” Henrick asked.

“Yes, my father was dragged in by that creature along with his fishing rod,” Yan explained.

“With his fishing rod? Why didn’t he let go before he was pulled in?” Shaneth asked.

Yan let out a sigh before he explained, “That’s just how my father is. He would never let anything escape as long as the fishing line was still intact.”

“Most people would let go of the rod, since their hands would hurt at that point…” Henrick grumbled.

“Not my father. My father was a strong man, and he even fished out a sunken ship alone in the past,” Yan explained.

“…Then is that creature larger than a sunken ship?” Shaneth asked nervously.

“I believe so,” Yan replied.

Only Kang Yoon-Soo did not look worried when the case took a turn, no longer seeming to be a simple case of a missing old man anymore.

Yan hesitated for a moment before saying, “It’s alright if you want to leave. Honestly… I have no idea if my father is still alive…”

“No,” Kang Yoon-Soo said. He continued, “Your father is still alive.”

Yan smiled weakly as he said, “Thank you for your kind words.”

Kang Yoon-Soo put down his teacup and said, “He’s still holding on to his fishing rod.”

“…”

***

At the harbor…

Rin pleaded with her son once again before he boarded the boat, “Don’t let the oar get tangled up in seaweed, and be careful of the reefs. Don’t die, okay? I’ll kill you with my bare hands if you do.”

“Please don’t worry, mother,” Yan assured her. He carefully asked his mother, “Mother, would you like to come along?”

“I have to watch over the shop, and what’s so good about your father that I’d go all the way there?” Rin grumbled, before offering a basket wrapped in cloth.

Yan tilted his head and asked, “What is this, mother?”

“I packed some food. I packed some for them as well, so have some when you get hungry,” Rin said.

“Thank you, mother. I’ll be back,” Yan said, bowing before starting to row the boat. The boat started to move slowly down the river.

Rin shouted from the riverbank, “Come back before it gets dark!”

They started to drift farther from the harbor, which started to become smaller and smaller until it completely disappeared from view. The summer sun shone down on them, and its light made the water’s surface sparkle.

Iris smiled as she looked at the food basket and said, “Yan’s mother is a very good person.”

“She’s too good for her own good sometimes,” Yan replied.

“What do you mean?” Iris asked, tilting her head.

“She’s been worrying about having another child at their age these days,” Yan explained.

“…I see that your folks get along very well, despite how they speak of each other,” Henrick chimed in.

Yan skillfully steered the boat, and they passed the other boats that were fishing leisurely as they ventured into the deeper parts of the river.

Shaneth scooped up some of the river water and said, “The water is really cold and clear. Now I understand why this place is so famous.”

Henrick watched a fish jump out of the water before diving back in. He asked, “But how does your father fish up strange things like sunken ships or land deeds in a river this clean?”

Yan shrugged and replied, “I asked him once, and all he said was ‘I just catch whatever’s on the hook.’”

“So he was born with that talent,” Henrick muttered.

The river started to become deeper and deeper the farther they ventured, and the boat started to rock as the tide started becoming rougher.

Iris held her head in her hands and complained, “I feel dizzy.”

“Are you getting seasick, unni?” Shaneth asked.

Yan offered a word of advice while rowing the boat. “That usually happens to people after boarding a boat for the first time. Try not to focus on one spot, and try to look at the trees in the distance instead.”

The trees were becoming denser and taller, towering over the riverbanks. The dense foliage slowly blocked the sunlight; the river lost its warmth, and a chill slowly began to rise from the waters.

Yan stopped rowing the boat and said, “This is where my father was fishing. Father used to love fishing in strange places.”

[You have entered the watershed located deep within the Cayman River.]

[More large fishes inhabit this place compared to normal fishing spots.]

[This is a fishing spot unknown to most fishermen.]

[More fish will bite when it rains.]

[A vicious, man-eating predator fish will appear once every three months.]

[The tide is strong in this area.]

[Please be careful not to overturn the boat.]

Yan anchored their boat on a bank near the forest. He took out several fishing rods from the boat after the others got off it. The rods were quite well-maintained, and they were in very good condition.

[Cayman River Premium Fishing Rod]

Rating: Normal

A sturdy fishing rod. The hook will reach all the way down to the deepest parts of the river. Your luck will increase if you are holding a straw.

+ Your chance to catch a larger fish will increase if you fish on the Cayman River.

Henrick rubbed his chin and said, “The key is to find and catch the large fish that took your father.”

“Is it your first time fishing?” Yan asked. The party members all nodded except for Kang Yoon-Soo. Yan proceeded to politely teach them how to fish.

Shaneth looked at the can of bait and asked, “You’re using lugworms as bait?”

“The fishes here in Cayman River love lugworms. You’ll mostly find lugworms in the fishes’ bellies if you cut them open,” Yan explained.

Iris looked down at the wriggling worms in the can of bait and said, “These look really delicious.”

“I’m going to say this because I’m worried about you. Don’t eat those,” Henrick warned her.

“Henrick must think I am stupid,” Iris complained with a pout.

“Can you at least say that after you’ve taken your eyes off the worms?” Henrick grumbled.

Yan put some bait on the others’ hooks before proceeding to prepare his own fishing rod, then said, “Let’s try spreading out. Each point has different fish in it, but we have no choice, since we have no clue at all where the one we’re looking for will appear.”

The five of them spread out toward different fishing spots. Henrick and Yan went to a shaded place, Kang Yoon-Soo and Shaneth went to the riverbank, and Iris went to a place with a rough tide.

Henrick did not use his fishing rod, but instead extended his hand and shot out blue threads from it. Yan tilted his head in confusion and asked, “What are those?”

“Mana threads. They’re stronger than normal fishing lines,” Henrick explained.

Kang Yoon-Soo, on the other hand, would not leave his fishing rod alone and kept swaying it back and forth.

Shaneth watched him for a while before asking, “Isn’t it much more difficult to catch anything if you keep moving your rod?”

“It’s fine,” Kang Yoon-Soo replied.

Time passed, and the fishing rod started to catch things.

[You have caught a wooden branch.]

[You have caught a scaleless goldfish.]

[You have caught someone’s message in a bottle.]

[You have successfully caught three things.]

[A new skill, ‘Fishing’, has been created.]

[Fishing]

Skill Level: 1 (00.00%)

Use your fishing rod to catch fish. You will catch all sorts of things from time to time.

They all caught small fishes or random things at first, but as time passed, there was a visible difference as Kang Yoon-Soo began to catch decent-sized fishes.

[You have caught a mountain trout.]

[Your ‘Fishing’ skill proficiency has risen slightly.]

[You have caught a silver trout.]

[A huge catch! Your ‘Fishing’ skill proficiency has risen greatly.]

[You have gained some experience points.]

[Your hand movements are enticing the fish!]

[You will catch things more often.]

[The ‘Fishing’ skill level has risen.]

[The chances of catching a large fish have increased.]

Kang Yoon-Soo began to catch larger fish one by one. Henrick threw his fishing rod away before leaning on a tree and grumbling, “I knew it. That guy’s going to do everything by himself anyway.”

“I’ve fished at a volcano before,” Kang Yoon-Soo said.

“…”

They all started to catch things as time passed. Yan and Shaneth caught a few minnows, Henrick caught three salmon, and Kang Yoon-Soo caught eight decent-sized fish.

Shaneth looked at the river and said, “Fishing is pretty fun now that I’ve tried it. The feeling of my fishing rod trembling when something gets caught is exciting, even though I’ve only managed to catch a few minnows.”

To the others’ surprise, Yan, on the other hand, was not able to catch much. Henrick carefully asked him what was on their minds. “This might offend you, but… Why can’t you catch anything if your father was such a great fisherman?”

“I also suspect I was adopted from time to time…” Yan said, laughing awkwardly as he scratched his cheek.

However, one of them had failed to catch a single fish. Iris had tears welling up in her eyes as she complained, “I am the only one who has not caught anything…”

“You were so excited a while ago, but what happened to you?” Henrick snickered and mocked her openly.

“Henrick, you have to get rid of that habit of mocking people,” Iris said with a pout.

Henrick extended his bucket toward her and asked, “Want me to give you a salmon?”

“Hmph! I do not want it,” Iris said, scoffing.

“Oh, what happened to you? Are you refusing food?” Henrick asked, feigning surprise.

“I am not a glutton, mind you,” Iris retorted, even though she was looking at the silver-white salmon while swallowing her saliva.

Henrick clicked his tongue and asked, “Can’t you make your words and actions match?”

It was then…

Chwaaak!

Iris’ fishing rod had a bite. She excitedly pulled on her rod and exclaimed, “It is finally here!”

Chwaaaaak!

A creature emerged from the surface of the water, and a loud cry reverberated from its mouth. “Krrrwaaaaaaah!”